26 October 2015
Leaving early for
our morning drive, we set out in rather hot sunny conditions, which soon
changed as some clouds rolled in. This made for some good game viewing conditions
as it remained cloudy throughout the morning.
We were soon
rewarded with a fairly quick leopard sighting. We saw it walking away from us
along a game trail and eventually out of sight. Not long after, we found a
Spotted Hyena sleeping in a drainage line close to the road.
After our morning
coffee break, we continued to a nearby waterhole where we were in for quite a
treat.
On arrival we saw
a female White Rhino with 2 calves of different ages, the younger just over a
year old. They were looking very alert and staring at 6 lionesses lying under a
tree a few meters away. As the Rhino moved towards the waterhole, one or
two lions also got uneasy and they made sure they kept a very close eye on each
other. We noticed 2 more lionesses and a young male to make it 9 lions, however
they are most likely part of a bigger pride.. As if seeing Rhino and Lion share
a waterhole was not enough, a large elephant bull approached for a drink and a
mud bath. On his approach the bull startled 2 more spotted hyena which were
hiding in their burrow and they made a hasty escape! After his mud bath the
elephant stood facing the lions, turning the tip of his trunk to catch their
scent, the lions in turn trying to look as disinterested as possible. The
elephant then walked off, surprisingly leaving them in peace, but what a
fantastic moment to have 3 of the big 5 and hyena together!
27 October 2015
We set out
early with the bush refreshed after a night of heavy rain. As it was still
overcast, with bouts of light drizzle it was actually very good game drive
weather and we set out with the hope of finding some predators in the cool
conditions.
However the
morning started off with a couple of big herds of Buffalo and a breeding herd
of elephant.
Our first
predator sighting of the day was when we found a couple of spotted hyena lying
close to one of their den sites. They were very relaxed and struggling to keep
their eyes open, not really doing much at all...
Afterwards we
followed up on some leads about wild dogs and Lion in the area, but to no
avail...
After our
morning coffee break, we decided to extend our morning drive and continued our
search. It paid off when we found 2 mating pairs of lion approximately 2 km
apart! The first pair was sleeping about 30 meters off the road, very flat, but
out in the open. The second pair we found were right next to the road; taking a
break from the mating, but lying close together, offering great photo
opportunities. We sat watching them for about 20 min, but eventually left the
sighting without actually seeing them mate, as it was time to move on.
After our lunch
break on the way out of the park we were also lucky enough to complete our big
5 for the day, when we spotted a large male leopard lounging on a termite
mound. At first he was lying very flat and all we could really see was his
white belly and sides. We stuck around for a while though and he eventually got
up to change position, offering us a very good view. He got comfortable
again and we left with him still lying on the mound - a fitting end to another
very successful day!
28 October 2015
After loading
luggage, we set out for a final morning drive. First up we encountered a troop
of Vervet Monkeys with many very small babies. I have only started noticing the
new babies in the last few days, so most of them are only a few days old! It
was very interesting to watch them hanging on for dear life to their mothers'
bellies as the adults continue with their normal daily lives, up and down trees
with the little ones hanging on.
We also saw a
breeding herd of elephant with a very small baby crossing the road in front of
our vehicle.
Not much
further we saw a herd of Sable Antelope, one of the rarest mammal species in
Kruger Park! They were in the bush and very skittish, but we did get some
decent views of some of the adult females and their young.
The highlight
of our morning was when we came across a large congregation of vultures at
least 80 of them of various species. Several of them had very full gullets and
we're covered in dried blood. We could not see what they had fed on or any
predators, bit it was evident that they had just finished their feast. There
was a small stream nearby and some of the vultures had already washed
themselves and were sprawled on the ground or perched with their wings open to
dry off. We noticed some fresh lion tracks in the road where the vultures were,
but did not find the lions. The majority of the vultures were White-backed, but
we also saw some Lappet-faced and 4 Cape Vultures, much larger and paler than
the White-backed Vulture!
Shortly before
exiting the park we caught a quick glimpse of a leopard which had been stalking
Impala. The Impala, along with some Kudu, had spotted it and was sounding the
alarm and not taking their eyes of the Leopard, following it to make sure they
know where it is going, which helped us to see it. We watched as it crossed a
clearing and disappeared into a drainage line, a nice highlight to top off 4
days of safari!
